A ski game machine is known in the art, wherein a player rides on a board that represents skis to simulate skiing. In particular, a ski game machine has recently been developed in which an input board that represents skis is used as an input means, virtual skiing is provided within a virtual three dimensional space, and the state thereof is shown on a display.
With this ski game machine the input board on which the player rides is attached to a base in such a manner that it is free to rotate towards the left and right. The player mounted on this board plays the game by causing the board to rotate to the left or right while viewing travelling images of a virtual player shown on the display, thus controlling the direction of travel of the virtual player to the left or right.
It is desirable that this type of game machine should be installed efficiently in the limited installation space available in places such as game centers.
However, this game machine uses a configuration in which the input board is attached in such a manner that it is simply free to rotate along a circular track. This raises a problem in that it is necessary to provide sufficient installation space for the width of the circular track of the input board.
It is possible to make the entire apparatus more compact by limiting the rotational angle of this input board. However, this decreases the operability of the game machine as a ski game, raising the problem of a reduction in interest of the game.
The input board of this ski game machine is simply supported axially so that it is free to rotate along a circular track. This means that it is not possible to impart to the player the physical sensation of turning while side-slipping, which can be done in real-life skiing, which is one reason why the reality of this game is impaired.